


Milkshake Managed

by HedonistInk



Series: Kai's Zine Scenes [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Aphelion: A VLD Writer Zine, Developing Relationship, F/F, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Pidge | Katie Holt, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Male Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Modern Era, Other, trans author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-07 08:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14667072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HedonistInk/pseuds/HedonistInk
Summary: Working at a retro diner has its ups and downs for Pidge. The uniform is a big one. Some days it's chill and she likes it; it's frilly, it moves fun, and it's cute. Some days Pidge just feels really fucking weird in a skirt; it's like wearing drag. Whatever the day, getting home means a shower and scrubbing the french fry smell out of their hair before kicking back online, getting dragged out to kickboxing by Keith, or getting made to stay in with Lance for a 'spa night'. It's a job. And at least the rest of the staff is cool. What's not so cool is nearly getting fired after yanking a guy out of his seat for flipping up her uniform skirt. What's definitely a lot more cool is gorgeous regular Allura trying to chat her up after that incident. Well. Less cool. More entirely tragic and cringey. But in an endearing sort of way. What starts as curiosity, amusement, and an offer of a free dinner turns into something more.





	Milkshake Managed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Aphelion Zine, this is one of my two pieces for that project! I had a blast working on this project!

Coran's Diner was a cute place. A bit kitschy and definitely a throwback to a bygone era with its 50’s theme. The place wasn't even one of those new-and-designed-to-look-retro places. No, it was  _ authentic _ . Coran's had been open  _ forever _ . but it was cute. And Pidge enjoyed working there. The atmosphere was comfortable and the people were genuine. The regulars were easy and cool and Pidge liked hearing their updates on life while taking orders. 

Pidge's one real issue was the uniform. It was… well…  _ girly. _ Which, ok, it wasn't a problem in and of  _ itself _ and it was actually a pretty cute uniform. The roller skates, short (but not  _ too _ short) red and white striped skirt, white button-up blouse, and the red ascot were a really cute combination. It looked like something out of an old 50’s movie.

But when Pidge was having a 'not-girl' day, it just felt like wearing drag. Cute drag, but still drag nonetheless. Drag while on roller skates. Performance drag. And they weren't really into that feeling. It made them feel the urge to just rip the damn thing off after barely making it through their apartment door all the stronger. But some days were okay. 'Girl' days were okay. She liked showing off the curve of her hips and casually flirting—with period-appropriate lingo, of course—with the girls who came in. She never could resist a pretty bird. Most of them just laughed it off or flustered at her compliments. But it wasn't like it had ever turned  _ into _ anything. After all, nobody  _ seriously _ flirted with their waitstaff except creepers, usually. 

The one regular who often caught her eye though was  _ definitely _ not a creeper. Allura was tall and mesmerising. Her warm, soft-looking skin always tastefully peeked out from under the form-fitting but respectable blouses she wore, her legs long, and her thighs thick and strong. She was, in a word,  _ gorgeous. _ And Pidge was definitely was super keen on her. 

But it wasn't like anything could actually come out of it. So Pidge just flirted innocently and occasionally gave Allura something free on her orders and that was what she made do with. Admiring from afar and learning what she could from their little interactions. Allura worked for her father's company, AlteaCorp, in some sort of department-head position that involved a lot of paperwork. But the tips she dropped for Pidge certainly suggested that with her salary she didn't exactly struggle for money.  

Still, Pidge reminded herself, it wasn't like anything would come of it. And Pidge had more important things to worry about than the attractive businesswoman. Orders to handle and customers to tend to. It kept her busy enough. And only creepers  _ seriously _ hit on their waitstaff.

Creepers like the one Pidge had the misfortune of serving one weekday afternoon. They could tell the guy was a fuckboy the moment he walked in the door with his buddies, gesturing and laughing obnoxiously at the decor of the place. His ponytailed hair looked almost white. The guy  _ clearly _ thought he was hot shit. He stared at Pidge's chest the entire time they were trying to take his order. Asshole. But they just had to do the job and get the guy and his friends their food so he could hurry up and get the fuck out. 

Unfortunately, fuckboys apparently had bottomless pits for stomachs because this asshole and his buddies just kept ordering more and more shit whenever they finished the food Pidge had brought. Great. Couldn't these guys just be done? They had to have consumed at least three thousand calories each already between the shakes, fries, and burgers. It wasn't natural. 

Turning to leave from dropping off yet  _ another _ round of milkshakes—all chocolate except for the lead fuckboy who wanted strawberry and chocolate mixed together for some absurd reason—Pidge felt their blood run cold with the sudden  _ breeze _ up the backside of their skirt and a hand brushing up against their ass. They dropped the serving tray in shock, the metal making a loud clatter as it dropped to the ground. They could hear small snickers and hushed jeering behind them. 

Oh no. He did  _ not _ . Oh  _ no he fucking did not. _

Spinning on their heel with the assistance of one of the poles sticking up from the side of a booth, Pidge rounded on him. They were seeing red. "Excuse me?  _ Excuse _ me!?" They darted forward, yanking him up by the collar of his polo shirt—popped, of course, the jerk. "Do you make a  _ habit _ of sexually assaulting your waitstaff?" 

Fuckboy actually looked slightly horrified that Pidge was able to lift him out of his seat slightly. Still, he recovered his composure quick enough, smirking up at them and giving them a once-over. "Only the pretty ones." 

Oh, they were going to  _ end _ him. Pidge gave a grimace of a smile before yanking the guy out of his seat and to the floor, pinning one skate at his groin. "Oh…  _ honey _ , if you wanted a  _ view _ , all you had to do was  _ ask… _ " They ground down harder at his groin, making him yelp and grab for their ankle fruitlessly. Cis boys always got  _ so _ weak once you had them by the balls. "This a view enough for you, honey?"

Pidge turned back to the other three guys sitting in the booth, snapping their fingers and pointing at the table. "You assholes. Drop a twenty each, one for your friend, and one for a tip. And  _ then _ you get this  _ fucker _ out of here. Got it?" They waited for the boys to stare at them in horror for a moment before snapping their fingers again. " _ Chop chop. _ " 

The flurry of movement satisfied Pidge as they stepped back to let the boys collect their apparent leader once the money was on the table. It wasn't until the door shut behind them and the adrenaline started to fade that Pidge realized they  _ maybe _ shouldn't have done that. Like… at all. Oops. The chatter erupted back up again as soon as the door shut. It was only then that Pidge realized it had stopped in the first place. Oh  _ god _ that meant everyone had been  _ watching _ that. 

"...Pidge… See me after your shift," Coran's voice cut across the chatter clear and easy. 

Uh oh. 

Pidge tried to busy themself with work until the end of their shift. They were both glad and horrified that Allura was there, glad because it offered a distraction yet horrified because Allura was…  _ quiet _ . It was strange compared to her usual chattiness. And she kept looking at them with a look Pidge couldn't quite decipher. Pidge was glad that the shift seemed to go by quickly.

They got in less trouble than expected. By the time Coran had the full situation, he'd more or less decided that the guy had had it coming for touching Pidge inappropriately. He wasn't exactly  _ pleased _ by the chain of events but he wasn't going to fire Pidge either. Good enough. Not getting fired was amazing enough on its own. Much less not even getting any kind of reprimand or being shafted onto slow shifts for it. Coran was a saint, really. 

She turned up to work the next day with significantly more pep in her step. She was thankful the uniform felt like a better fit that day. It definitely hadn't helped with her patience during The Fuckboy Incident™ that she'd been wearing clothes that were just  _ wrong _ for her. But that was all worked out. So it was fine. 

And Allura… Oh  _ man _ Allura was definitely being more openly flirty. She was  _ definitely  _ flirting. And…  _ wow _ she was… awful at it? Pidge had seen her share of awful flirting. She'd been friends with Lance since middle school and  _ he  _ couldn't flirt his way out of a paper bag. And… apparently Allura couldn't either. Pidge wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh at how awful it was or blush because  _ Allura _ was flirting with her. Actually flirting with her. Oh, she was too gay for this. 

Like… Allura was awful at flirting but it was also kind of cute watching Allura cram her foot into her mouth more and more every time she spoke. Pidge couldn't deny that she was flustered by the time Allura left. And she stayed that way for the rest of her shift. Allura—gorgeous, beautiful, curvy Allura—had been  _ flirting _ with her. Hitting on her, even. Pidge was going to have to reevaluate her conclusion that only creepers hit on their waitstaff because Allura was definitely  _ not  _ a creeper, in Pidge's opinion. 

Pidge took Keith up on his standing invitation to go kickboxing with him that night. She needed to work out her frustrations. And maybe get some advice. She always talked better when she was hitting things. It had been Keith's idea at first. He'd been the same way. His boyfriend Shiro had been the one to get him to open up with it; Keith, in turn, had passed it on to Pidge. She'd been sceptical at first but Pidge was consistently amazed how well it worked. 

That day was no exception as she started ranting about Allura. She  _ definitely _ kind of liked Allura. But liking people at  _ all _ was… complicated. It meant telling people things,  _ explaining _ things, about herself and her identity and her gender. Allura would be expecting a  _ girl _ friend. And Pidge was… not that. Not all of the time, anyway. Not even  _ most _ of the time. Pidge's gender was probably 30% girl, 30% don't care, and 40% Definitely Not A Girl. What would Allura think of that? 

Keith, for as much as he gave Pidge a space and method to vent, wasn't the best at  _ providing _ answers. He usually just let her talk until she got to a satisfactory answer by herself. Which was fine usually. But this time… this time she was really stuck. Keith had taken pity on her eventually. And while "you'll never know if you don't try" was the most cliché advice possible for the situation, Pidge knew he was right.

So that was what Pidge went by. They played into Allura's flirting, letting the exchanges, banter, and conversation drag on longer than they normally would have. And sure, Allura thought she was flirting with a girl, which Pidge definitely  _ wasn't  _ but… the attention was nice. And if nothing came of it, it was harmless. And if something came of it… well then Pidge would tell Allura their situation and they would see how she reacted. They could handle it either way. 

The next day during Allura's lunch break, the flirting continued. It was still awkward. It was still fumbling. It was still… oddly cute. But as Pidge was finishing up, refilling Allura's coffee one last time as she gave her the check, things… took a different turn. 

"So… uhm… I was… This might be entirely inappropriate of me to ask but…" 

Pidge stopped pouring, giving Allura her full attention. "Huh? What's up, sweet cheeks?" 

"I know I have… no reason to presume but…" 

Standing back slightly, Pidge cocked her hip to the side, tilting her head. "Yes…?" 

"But well… And I genuinely don't mean to offend. But I was wondering if…" 

"Come on, out with it… What are you wondering, doll?" Pidge's lips quirked with amusement. 

"You might like dinner, sometime?" 

Oh. Wow. Pidge saw that coming from a mile away but still managed to feel as though she was blindsided by it. "I eat dinner often. Every night, in fact." 

Allura blinked for a moment before frowning. "O-oh… I meant… That is… With me?"

Pidge tried to play it cool. "You mean you're asking me out? Like a date?"

"O-oh… Well… I… suppose that is… yes?" 

Staying quiet, Pidge let Allura stew with that for a long moment, making sure she had full realization of what she was asking and that it wasn't just some one-off whim. When Allura physically  _ squirmed _ in her seat, Pidge spoke up again. "I have Sundays off. Movie? And dinner?"

The look on Allura's face made it obvious just how much she hadn't been expecting Pidge to say yes. She looked like she was processing for a long moment before it dawned on her that Pidge was agreeing. When it did, the light in her face and her whole body language had Pidge's heart fluttering. "Yes! That's… That sounds lovely, Pidge." 

"Good." Scribbling her number down in a corner of the receipt pad, Pidge tore out the page and handed it over. "Text me and we'll figure out where to meet up?" Pidge… wasn't really too keen on the idea of the whole 'pick you up at eight' cliché. She had her own damn car and what if something went wrong and she was stuck there and then things were awkward? No, just meeting there was definitely better. Especially for now. 

After a bit more fumbling from Allura, Pidge left her to finish her coffee at her own pace and ring out. The giddy and nervous and occasionally nauseous flutters  _ definitely _ made it harder to focus for the rest of her shift. But it was worth it. More than.

At least at at first.

By the end of their shift the next day, Pidge was panicking. Thankfully Saturday was a short shift for them. And with a few texts they'd managed to arrange an emergency 'spa night' and emotional decompression session with Lance. 

It had taken them a long time to be able to deal with 'spa nights' on Not Girl-days but Lance wasn't a girl and  _ he _ was into it. And it did feel nice to feel just pampered for a bit. So eventually they'd managed to overcome their hesitance and just enjoy it. And besides, if they were going to have a  _ date _ , they had to look their best. 

Oh god they had a date. With Allura. Pidge was absolutely losing it. 

Thankfully, Lance was there to listen. Pidge ranted and worried and vented the entire time Lance was there. While Lance was applying their face mask. While Lance was fixing their cuticles. While Lance was painting their nails—clearcoat only. While Lance was… well… Basically the whole evening. 

Pidge groaned, laying back on the couch and coming full circle with their worries for what had to be the fourth time. "And what if I pick an outfit and it's something cute and then I wake up feeling too much like a boy to wear it?" 

"You can always pick something neutral, Pidge," Lance answered patiently. They could feel him gesturing. "Or pick two outfits. It's a first date. There's nothing wrong with a nice t-shirt and jeans. It's low-key. And that's totally neutral. No issues." 

Lance had a point. But still… "What if she thinks I'm weird because she thinks I look like a sixteen year old boy?" 

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have asked you out if she thought you looked like a sixteen year old anything." 

Okay… probably not but… "She's only ever seen me in work clothes! That stupid red and white dress! There's no way to know she's not expecting some kind of… I dunno… high femme princess or something! And then she finds out I'm me and it scares her off!" 

Lance sighed and Pidge could feel him sitting up and leaning over her. They popped an eye open as Lance looked at them seriously. "Pidge. Most days you don't even wear makeup to work. I'm  _ pretty sure _ she knows you're not remotely high femme. You're not going to scare her off." 

"But…" Pidge worried at their lip. "What if… I tell her and she thinks it's weird? Or that you can't just be a girl  _ sometimes? _ "

"Okay… look. You don't have to tell her on the first date, right? Like… just feel it out. See how it goes. Find your groove. And then if there's a  _ second _ date… Then you tell her. Because that's where you wanna know if you can consider going from 'going on a date' to ' _ dating _ ', right?"

"I… yeah… That's… that's true. You're right." 

"I know I am. That's why you come to me."

Pidge snorted, shaking their head. "I'm gonna owe you lunch or something for this 'session', aren't I?" It  _ was _ reassuring, at least. 

Lance puffed up at that, his posture haughty. "Hey, great advice isn't free." He managed to hold the expression for all of half a second before dissolving into laughter. Gathering himself, Lance shrugged. "But really… that way it's not too much pressure but you're still starting out your relationship on the right foot." 

Relationship. Oh  _ god _ it might become a  _ relationship. _ Pidge groaned, trying to dissolve back into the couch as Lance reassured them some more. 

It turned out Pidge didn't have anything to worry about. Sunday was a girl day after all and Pidge couldn't help using that do deck herself out to the nines. A cute green and white dress was accented with white leggings under it and kitten heels to complete the look. She even managed to get her hair to more or less behave. Sort of. It was better than it usually was, anyway. 

The date went… surprisingly well, actually. Allura was still utterly hopeless at flirting. But Pidge was starting to find it really amusing and endearing. It was funny and cute. And watching this tall, strong woman absolutely  _ lose it _ because Pidge grabbed her hand in the movie theatre? Pidge couldn't help but find it adorable. With a kiss to Allura's cheek, Pidge had agreed to a second date for the following Sunday when she had off again. 

The week between was an odd experience, seeing Allura while Pidge was at work. It wasn't  _ bad _ exactly. But it was just a very different sort of thing. And maybe a bit awkward. It was all… a lot: between knowing that Allura was into them, knowing there was another date looming on the horizon, trading texts when Allura wasn't sitting at that booth staring up at them with those gorgeous eyes, and trying to stay something at least sort of resembling professional when she was. Pidge wasn't sure what to think of it, really. But it definitely wasn't  _ bad _ . So it was okay. 

Still, with each passing day, Pidge couldn't help but get more and more nervous. Sure the first date had gone well, but what about the second? And Pidge had made a personal promise to bring up the whole Gender Thing with Allura. That could go any number of different ways. There was no real way to know. 

Their second date wound up being outright a  _ boy _ day for Pidge. He didn't get them often, usually sliding around but staying neutral or feminine of center and not crossing over into masculine. When he did, it usually meant going completely overboard to minimize any 'feminine' features in a search for comfort. In this case, that meant sneakers, an oversized sweater over a binder, a snapback hat, and a pair of baggy cargo shorts. Pidge knew he looked like a fourteen year old boy but… well might as well get it all out there so Allura could grasp the whole picture.

The date started out alright. Allura seemed… surprised by Pidge's outfit but not weirded out by it or anything after a moment of adjusting. That was a good start. And the museum exhibit Allura had suggested they go visit was interesting and engaging. Anything that would let him learn something was a solid sale in Pidge's book. Not to mention, it wasn't a far walk from a nice, quaint Italian restaurant. The weather was near perfect too, warm with a soft breeze. 

Hesitantly, on the walk from the museum to the restaurant, Pidge suggested a detour through a park. It was quieter and a better place to bring up what he had to bring up than the side of the street would have been. Besides that, the plants felt calming somehow, helping to settle Pidge's nerves. 

It was going to be fine. And if it wasn't… well… then things hadn't got too serious yet, so Pidge would get over it. 

"H-hey… So uh… I've been thinking about some stuff…" Pidge started vaguely, looking over at Allura as they walked. 

Allura's pace slowed to match Pidge's as she turned to look at Pidge curiously. "What sort of stuff? Is everything alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine. Or… well… I hope so anyway." 

"Then what's…?" 

"If we're gonna do this… the dating thing? There's something you need to know before we get any deeper into this." 

Allura stopped then, turning to face Pidge more fully. "Alright…" 

"Can't be your girlfriend."

Allura deflated visibly. Right, more explanation. 

"I can't be your girlfriend… Because I'm not a girl," Pidge continued before frowning. "Or… well not  _ all _ the time anyway. I'm a girl sometimes. I'm not today. Today… Today I'm a boy. Last Sunday, I was a girl. Lunch on Friday was somewhere in between. Tomorrow I might be a girl again." 

The frown on Allura's face had only deepened but it read as confusion rather than disapproval. "I'm… not entirely sure I understand…" 

"I'm… genderfluid? Some days I'm one thing, other days I'm another. So if we're gonna do this… it's a lot easier for both of us to just stick with 'datemate'. It's… less complicated that way." 

Hesitantly, Allura gnawed at her lip. Pidge could feel the tension. It was palpable and suffocating and internally he hoped for Allura to say something— _ anything. _

"So…" Allura finally began after what had to have been the longest minute in the history of the planet. "I'm… not entirely sure I 'get it' but… I'm… definitely willing to find out? Research, that is. If you can give me a little wiggle room to correct me for saying anything… inaccurate. But… what you're saying is… You want… us to date?" Allura's lips looked unfairly tempting in their hopeful little smile. 

"...That's what you got out of this?" Pidge asked, tone deadpan. 

"Is… that a no?" 

"It's  _ definitely _ a yes." Pidge couldn't help the incredulous laugh that escaped. Allura wanted this. Allura wanted them to be  _ dating _ . "I'd be honoured to go steady with you." 

"Honestly, I- I have been wondering all afternoon how I was possibly going to ask so… I'm glad you did," Allura admitted. 

Pidge hesitated before grabbing for Allura's hand. "I'm glad I did too. Now c'mon. I think it's high time I take my  _ girlfriend _ to lunch." 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/hedonistink) or [tumblr!](http://hedonistink.tumblr.com/) As always, comments and kudos are treasured and appreciated!


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